A companion’s journal chronicles an attempt to reach and settle the mouth of a great river, following the voyage from coastal departure through inland navigation. It records daily hardships of travel and supply, observations of terrain and weather, encounters and exchanges with indigenous peoples, growing tensions among participants, and the gradual disintegration of the enterprise. The edition supplements the narrative with a historical introduction, a biographical notice of the recorder, facsimile maps, annotations, letters and a bibliography. Together these elements present both a vivid travel chronicle and a documentary account of the expedition’s planning, progress and collapse.